Daily Times

Lahore, indeed is a city full of architecture and takes history in its fold. Many historic places and other things are a part of this cosmopolitan and historical city. Enjoying the rich architecture and the cultural-historical treasures of Lahore, one cannot help being awed by the grandeur and the mystery of a Mughal-era tomb’s pale-white dome situated inside the southwestern boundary wall of the Punjab Civil Secretariat.

The tomb is accessible to the public permitting several. The tomb is known as the last abode of the celebrated romantic character Anarkali, a courtesan of the Mughal emperor Akbar and his son Prince Salim.

A tomb, considered to be that of Anarkali, is located at the site of the Punjab Civil Secretariat in Lahore and is not listed at the Punjab Records Office. In the past, the aggressive British had converted it into a Christian church. But some historians believe it was converted into a chapel, not a church.

The tomb has lost majority of its actual beauty. Octagonal in plan, its sides alternately measure 44 feet and 30 feet. It stands on an octagonal base frame. On each corner there is a domed octagonal tower, and in the centre, a large dome on a high cylindrical neck. An interesting aspect of this huge building, is its upper storey gallery and bold outlines. It is one of the ancient surviving illustrations of a double domed building structure in Pakistan. No doubt it is a classic monument of solid masonry work of the ancient Mughal era.

The character of Anarkali has always haunted historians, in particular, and the people in general, with a strong feeling of suspense, mystery and a passionate romance. The story of Anarkali is, originally, a traditional legend, which has travelled verbally from generation to generation. History students from their school level are given knowledge about these historic personalities and interest is being developed in them. It’s on record and research information is available that that the lady, born Nadira Begum or Sharfun Nissa, was basically from Iran and came to Lahore with a traders’ caravan.

As Nadira Begum was very attractive, she got access to Akbar’s court and was endowed with the epithet of Anarkali on the basis of her beauty. It is really amazing that neither Jahangir mentioned her in his book Tuzk-i-Jahangiri, nor any contemporary historian left any clue of her saga. But due to the missing proof and facts, the whole story of Anarkali is generally considered to be either false or heavily exaggerated. However, the story of Anarkali is admired by many of among us and has been taken into literature, art and cinema.

Noor Ahmed Chishti, in his book Tehqiqaat-i-Chishtia, has provided some information regarding the episode of Anarkali, based on his personal observations as well as traditional tales. He writes in his book that Akbar was on a visit to Deccan when Anarkali fell ill and died and the other two concubines committed suicide to avoid the emperor’s wrath. When the emperor came back, he ordered to create this grand tomb. Chishti also relates, “I saw the marble grave that has 99 names of Allah inscribed on it, and the name Sultan Salim Akbar was written on the head side.”

Another renowned historian is of the view that Nadira Begum, a girl of Turkmen origin, was a kaniz in the harem of the emperor. He gave his opinion about her death by giving three versions that she was poisoned by a court official on the orders of Prince Salim. Secondly, she fell ill and died before the emperor returned to Lahore. The third version, and the most popular one, is that in the absence of the emperor, Prince Salim made advances on beautiful woman, and on learning of this the emperor ordered that she should be buried alive so that any misunderstanding between the emperor and the prince be removed.

“It is also a fact that it was Akbar, not Jahangir, who ordered that the tomb and the garden that once surrounded the tomb be built. The stone carving on the tomb of Asaf Jahan, of Emperor Jahangir and of Anarkali are of the same stone and writing, which suggests that it was Shah Jahan who had ordered these carvings. About the garden of this tomb it remained intact until the time the Sikhs came to power, and they pillaged it. Maharajah Ranjit Singh ordered the removal of the various tablets and Quranic carvings. He also got removed all the white marble for use in Amritsar.”

Syed Abdul Latif, in his book Tareekh-i-Lahore says that, “She was one of Akbar’s concubines. He suspected illegitimate relations between Prince Salim and Anarkali and, therefore, ordered that Anarkali be buried alive in a wall, and Jahangir later built the tomb there when he succeeded to the throne. A couplet by Jahangir written on the grave in Persian reads, “If I could behold my beloved only once, I would remain thankful to Allah until doomsday”. This clearly infers a passionate affair between Salim and Anarkali. Two dates have been mentioned on the grave: 1008 Hijri and 1025 Hijri — perhaps the date she died and the date of the completion of the tomb.

The tomb has lost a majority of its actual beauty. Octagonal in plan, its sides alternately measure 44 feet and 30 feet. It stands on an octagonal base frame. On each corner there is a domed octagonal tower, and in the centre, a large dome on a high cylindrical neck

Kanhaya Laal a historian writes that, “He opines that Anarkali died a natural death when Akbar was on a tour of Deccan. He contradicts that later on, Akbar got this graceful tomb built, but it was destroyed by the Sikh rulers and was later converted into a Church by the British.”

I personally believe that every historian has their own style of presenting history they include in their personal analysis that this could have happened. Regarding Anarkali’s tomb and her death, one cannot give a specific statement because it’s a mystery, which cannot be solved. It’s an ongoing process and research.

Nowadays, an excess of people flocking to this beautiful monument is very less because it’s under the supervision of the secretariat. People who wish to visit this cannot see this freely because of security reasons, says an official at the secretariat. About six to seven permissions have to be taken for having a look at this building and that’s not a good sign for someone who wants to research on it.

Whether Anarkali’s story is true or not, her legend fantasy has fascinated the people of Pakistan and India. The Anarkali tomb is no doubt a must see site of Lahore, if you are planning to visit the old traditional and historical places of Lahore and if you miss a visit to the Anarkali tomb, then your Lahore tour is considered incomplete.

The writer is a social and political activist based in Lahore.

He can be reached at salmanali088@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, September 5^th 2017.